9.08.2014

(Editor's Note: Catch the Replacements live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tomorrow evening — 28 years since NBC banned them from their network after a wild night on SNL)

Thoughts & Photos: J.D. Scholten

As a general concert rule, I am not one for reunion tours. However, this is the Replacements! The Bumbershoot show was only their 9th show in the past two years after 22 years of silence. I was in, despite having so many questions. What were they going to sound like? Will they be belligerent, or even coherent? Now that these ‘bastards of young’ have grown up and their youth has evaded them, who are these ‘Mats?

It was very much a Paul and Tommy show, the only two remaining original members. They bantered, joked with the audience and continued to be endearingly arrogant. Despite being shells of their former raucous youth, they were out there having fun and doing things their way.

They played the 6pm Main Stage slot, oddly between Schoolboy Q and the Head and the Heart. Westerberg even referenced, Maybe when we got older we can play when it’s dark out. The slot seemed symbolic of their career – where they never reached a mainstream audience or had that much commercial success; in spite of their loyal fans and the critics’ admiration.

They immediately silenced all doubts as they jumped out of the gates with “Favorite Thing” followed by three songs off their first album, the punk filled Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash. As the show progressed, they showed their diversity and evolution of sound by playing most of the highlights off — Let It Be, Tim, Please to Meet Me, and Don’t Tell a Soul. In typical ‘Mats fashion, their cover of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” was only played partially and it seemed like it could have been rehearsed a bit more (if it was at all). For an encore, Mr. Westerberg leaped off in front of the stage to perform “Left of the Dial,” mostly with his back turned to the crowd, before they radiantly closed with “Alex Chilton.”

This tour is producing consistently great, crowd-pleasing shows. Gone are the legendary days when you never knew what you were going to get with these unapologetic, unpredictable drunkards. At times, Paul stumbled over a few of the lyrics, he didn’t shy away from any use of expletives, he smoked between songs (and sometimes during), and his guitar cable came undone, but those imperfections are part of the charm.

Maybe it’s maturation or maybe it’s them paying it back to the fans for all the years of uncertainty, but whatever it is, it is working and enjoyable. I went to see the Replacements; something that I never thought was going to happen. View the full setlist HERE. Cheers, FYM.

8.01.2014

FYM's favorite Seattle hip-hop band is back with a smooth new jam for your Friday listening pleasure. As part of their one single a month series, Theoretics today release Sunsets featuring Grynch & Afrok. Listen to this laid-back summer cruiser below:

Sunsets is the second jam Theoretics have released for their monthly single series. The first, Funk Break featuring Moe Betta can be heard HERE. It's nice to see Theoretics moving past the departure of their original vocalists Mark Hoy and Chimaroke Abuachi in 2013. The band is comprised of immensely talented musicians, and they are truly doing something special on this current project.

Sunsets and the overall direction Theoretics seem to be going in, reminds us of the heyday of 90's hip-hop. There is a definite Midnight Marauders vibe going on here. Grynch (The King of Ballard), and Olympia hip-hop vet Afrok do an excellent job contributing vocals to Sunsets. Stayupto date on the latest Theoretics news by visiting their website HERE.

7.30.2014

Fresh off a lengthy tour across the United States, Seattle's Kris Orlowski performed a secret show for 107.7 The End in the Caffe Vita Bean Room this past Saturday at Capitol Hill Block Party.

Before his set we found Kris Orlowski out front hanging with his keyboardist Torry Anderson & sonic wiz kid Budo. It was a true pleasure meeting Budo, one of Seattle's most versatile musicians and producers.

Orlowski started off his set with the uplifting anthem -All My People GO. The soaring chorus backed by his tour traveled band buds sounded as tight as we've ever heard him. FYM is loving his new approach to composition with a punched up rock/pop influence.

If you haven't heard Kris Orlowski's latest release Believer, check out the video for the title track below (shot while on their national tour with Jamestown Revival). It's a great introduction to his record - released on April 15th this past spring.

FYM had a great time at the Caffe Vita Bean Room rockin' out to Orlowski's set. Visit his site HERE to stay current with tour dates, merch and music news. View more photos from Kris Orlowski's secret Capitol Hill Block Party set below (click to expand images). Cheers, FYM.

6.24.2014

This Saturday, June 28th FYM is excited to attend ROCK LOCAL, a new music showcase being held at Hotel Max in downtown Seattle! Rock Local's mission statement speaks for itself:

"Rooted in our passion for community and art of all forms, ROCK LOCAL exists to promote local artisans, musicians, and independent brands while giving back to worthwhile causes. We connect audience to artist through intimate showcases in unique settings.

Kristen Burns (with a little help from her friends) has put together a stellar lineup of Seattle live music, art and spirits that should not be missed. Tickets can be purchased online HERE. For even more details visit RockLocal.org. Enjoy FYM's digital showcase of the bands performing this Saturday at ROCK LOCAL below:

4.06.2014

This past month (Grammy-Nominated, Capitol Records Recording Artist) Mary Lambert reached out to FYM to design 18x24 lyric posters for two of her songs--- She Keeps Me Warm and I Know Girls (Body Love).

My design concept above for She Keeps Me Warm, was to make this song visually feel like a patriotic statement. I used various weights of the same typeface, as well as color-blocking, and a newsprint texture in the background to make the lyrics speak for themselves.

My second visual interpretation of She Keeps Me Warm, is more straight-forward. I took the tune for what it is... a beautiful love song (as opposed to a political statement). There were two variations of this poster (the other is a light 50's blue). I liked the idea of including her photo and doubling up the lyrics to balance out the design.

I Know Girls (Body Love), was a very challenging piece to design. The poem itself is around 60 lines of text, and it's also a very intense statement---emotionally uplifting while being brutally honest. For my first interpretation I decided to focus on BOLD color, while creating a modern layout for people to easily read Mary's empowering statement.

The next, I focused on the spoken word vibe of I Know Girls (Body Love). I wanted to create a graphic that gave off a textbook/notebook feel (including highlighter marks and blacked out lines). This design is my personal favorite, and the detail shows off well when blown up to 18x24.

Up next Mary asked FYM to create a couple t-shirt designs using a line from I Know Girls (Body Love). The layout for the quote was pretty obvious for me. I wanted MORE and BODY to stand out on this shirt.

For the next design I simply hacked More/Body to add a more dynamic take on the simple layout statement. Find Mary Lambert on tour with Matt Nathanson and Gavin DeGraw this summer. More info HERE. Cheers, FYM. They Live!